The Elephant Medallions book is entirely true to Frank Holt and a great credit to
his immense knowledge of Bactria ,
or should we say Afghanistan
Basically it handles about two coins.
The first is a large silver decadrachm
that surfaced in the mid-19th century from somewhere around Khullum Bokkara, but that is not a
certitude. The obverse shows an elephant with two riders turning their head
around to look at the horseman behind them. It is not clear whether the
elephant warriors are attacking the horseman or vice-versa since both hold
spears ready to attack. On the reverse we see a standing figure which may
represent Alexander the Great
crowning Niké with a laurel branch. A few more such medallions have surfaced
over the years, but only five have been labeled as original, the others are
probably fake.
The second type is a smaller silver
tetradrachm with a sole elephant without riders on the obverse and a hunter
on the reverse side. This hunter may simply be a fourth century BC Indian
soldier because of the typical man-high bow he is carrying. Only six such
tetradrachms have been considered as original.
In his study, Frank Holt includes all the assertions
and speculations made over the decennia. Is one of the elephant riders Porus or Darius or Taxiles? Is the
figure on the reverse Zeus or Alexander?
Since none of the medallic coins carry any inscription, he concludes that they
were struck in Persia Greece and have been found mingled is different
large hoards found all over Bactria ,
but the furthest west was Babylon
All these elements lead Frank Holt to conclude
that the large decadrachm was issued by Alexander
just after his victory over Porus at
the Hydaspes River – a battle that by far surpassed that of Gaugamela .
The only time that Alexander celebrated his victory was after the Hydaspes battle, and it would be obvious
to issue the magnificent
medallion in a gesture to thank his soldiers for this success. As to the smaller
coin, the elephant tetradrachm, it may have been issued to hail the power of Porus after he was appointed to rule
over India, i.e. after Alexander gave him
back his kingdom and even more territory.
As I said, a true detective story with lots and
lots of information. This book definitely should be read together with the Lost World of the Golden King!